By Darrin Jones / September 28
Ingredients: If you liked the plot of The Terminator (1984), the special effects of Blade Runner, and the intensity of Deja Vu, then you will like this movie.Dredd 3D, now Looper, when did September become awesome? Let’s jump right into it, Looper takes place in the not-so-distant future of 2044. Even further in the future then that, time travel is invented and outlawed. Since hiding a murder becomes even harder to pull off, the mob of the far-future sends hapless victims back in time to be killed and disposed of by a group of specialized assassins known as ‘Loopers.’ The reason they’re called Loopers is because their job involves killing anyone that is sent back to their time, including their older selves, thereby closing the loop between the past and future. When the time comes for Joe (as played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to finally kill his future self (Bruce Willis), he botches the job and the whole organization turns on him. Young Joe has to stay ahead of his fellow assassins while trying to put a stop to his future self’s desperate plan for survival.
If all you know about this movie is what you gleamed from the trailer, then this flick is NOT what you think it is. The interaction between Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is only a part of the movie, though probably the strongest part. A lot of the movie actually focuses on the dilemma between fate and self-fulfilling destiny. And there is plenty of obvious social commentary that is hinted at but not obnoxiously so.
Looper’s look at the near future is probably one of the most original, believable and depressing that I’ve seen in a long time. While some sci-fi movies like to drop their plot in a post-apocalyptic wasteland or a squeaky clean totalitarian regime, Looper takes place in a more blasé future. Sure there’s flying vehicles, solar-powered cars, roaming homeless masses and even psychic powers but no one cares. It’s the ironic future that hipsters have been waiting for.
The makeup art and practical effects look superb and really add to the film. And Looper has some very brilliant ideas and a few particularly gruesome moments that accomplish their goals without resorting to ridiculous gore. (No offense Dredd 3D.) And to top-off the great visuals is an equally great cast and strong characters.
As with many time traveling movies, the time science is principally just a plot device; meaning the filmmakers aren’t exactly concrete on just what affects what. And while Looper is not the most well-written of sci-fi movies, it’s still a good movie. I recommend it for anyone that’s a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, or time traveling shenanigans. Just don’t look too closely at the plot-holes, your brain might explode.
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